Exploring the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM): Impact on Innovation Ecosystem in India
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African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development ISSN: 2042-1338 (Print) 2042-1346 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rajs20 Exploring the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM): Impact on innovation ecosystem in India Amitkumar Singh Akoijam & V. V. Krishna To cite this article: Amitkumar Singh Akoijam & V. V. Krishna (2017) Exploring the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM): Impact on innovation ecosystem in India, African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 9:5, 573-585, DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2017.1359466 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2017.1359466 Published online: 30 Aug 2017. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 141 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rajs20 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2017 Vol. 9, No. 5, 573–585, https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2017.1359466 © 2017 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development Exploring the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM): Impact on innovation ecosystem in India Amitkumar Singh Akoijam 1* and V. V. Krishna2 1PhD Scholar, Centre for Studies in Science Policy (CSSP), School of Social Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi-110067, India 2Professorial Fellow, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia *Corresponding author email: [email protected] To make India one of the leaders in solar energy generation and to promote ecologically sustainable growth that addresses the nation’s energy security challenge is one of the promising goals of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) or National Solar Mission. This paper presents the country’s current solar energy scenario and explores ways in which various actors, agencies and policies shape the mission from the different perspectives on innovation literature. Innovation ecosystem is one of the perspectives where the sense of environment or ecology of various institutions, actors and other factors surrounds the activity of research and innovation. In this ecosystem, there is no single actor that can perform independently. The research outcomes, especially the patents, research publications and R&D investment, have become an increasingly essential area after the announcement of the JNNSM. The study also highlights that the number of research papers published in relation to solar energy has increased and there is a significant presence of productive R&D institutions, universities and supportive policy initiatives in the country. Keywords: solar energy, innovation ecosystem, sectoral system of innovation, Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, India Introduction constitutes a major contribution by India to the global Energy is an important sector for the economic growth of a effort to meet the challenges of climate change. According nation like India. The country’s economy is one of the fastest to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), growing economies in the world. Due to the rapidly growing solar energy has been an important component of the coun- population and growing economy, consumption in the try’s energy planning process and it is no longer an ‘alter- energy sector has increased rapidly. There is a wide gap nate energy’ butwillincreasinglybecomeakeypartof between the country’s energy production and its energy the solution to the nation’s energy needs.1 In June 2008, demand (Krishna, Sagar, and Spratt 2015). About 300 India released its National Action Plan on Climate Change million people in the country lack access to basic energy ser- (NAPCC) to promote development goals while addressing vices, according to the World Bank Report (2014). On the climate change mitigation and adaptation and to enhance other hand, the country has huge potential for the generation ecological sustainability of the country’s development path.2 of solar energy. The government of India launched a The mission is the leading one among eight national mission, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission missions3 under the NAPCC because it fights the issue (hereafter JNNSM or the National Solar Mission)in of climate change and it tries to answer the question of November 2009 (it officially took off in January 2010). It meeting India’s energy demand while expanding develop- is a major initiative to promote ecologically sustainable ment opportunities of different solar technologies through- growth while addressing India’s energy security challenge. out the country. There are different actors who constitute The goal is to make the nation one of the leaders in solar and shape the solar energy sector, like business enterprises energy production in the world by 2022. The mission has or private firms, R&D institutions, universities, financial three phases, phase-I (2010–2013), phase-II (2013–17) institutions, government ministries, non-governmental and phase-III (2017–2022), each with different target organization, etc. In our study, innovation ecosystem achievements. The mission also has other additional goals refers to the perspective where a sense of the environment such as promoting R&D, providing public domain infor- or ecology of various institutions, actors and various other mation, developing trained human resources for the solar factors surrounds the activity of research and innovation. industry and expanding the scope and coverage of earlier incentives for industries to set up solar photo voltaic (PV) Objectives and research methodology manufacturing in India. This mission, for various reasons, The main objective of the study is to map the energy scen- has garnered a lot of attention and inspired fully-fledged ario in the country in order to understand the significance of research into itself, while, simultaneously, impacting the renewable energy with a focus on solar energy. Others are: innovation ecosystem in the country. - to study the various policies enunciated by the govern- Solar energy technologies and innovation promote eco- ment with special reference to the first phase of the logically sustainable growth while addressing the country’s National Solar Mission and its impact on institution energy security challenge (MNRE 2013). JNNSM building; and This paper has changed since it was first published. See corrections statement DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2017.1376397 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development is co-published by Taylor & Francis and NISC (Pty) Ltd 574 Akoijam and Krishna - to explore the dynamics of innovation by identifying modern economies. The Schumpeterian concept of inno- various actors and institutions which determine the vation also draws attention to the introduction of new pro- process of innovation in the solar energy sector. ducts, process innovation that is new to an industry, the Our study is based on both quantitative and qualitative opening of new markets, the development of new sources data. The quantitative data primary means the number of of supply for raw materials or other inputs, and changes scientific research publications related to solar energy in industrial organizations (Schumpeter 1939). and patents granted in various solar technologies. It was Further, as Edquist (2001) argues, innovation is the new gathered first by reviewing the available literature related creation of economic significance which is normally to renewable energy, solar energy and a few articles carried out by firms or sometimes by individuals. The based on the mission. The concept of innovation that is product or idea can be brand new, but is more often the used in the study was drawn from the innovation system new combination of existing elements. He further describes perspectives of National Innovation Systems (Freeman the category of innovation as extremely complex and het- 1987 and 1995; Nelson 1993; Lundvall 1997; Edquist erogeneous. Similarly, Fagerberg, Mowery, and Nelson 1997) and Sectoral Innovation Systems (Carlsson 1995; (2005) also stress that innovation is crucial for long-term Breschi and Malerba 1997; Mowery and Nelson 1999). economic growth and it tends to cluster in certain industries The information and data related to solar policies and pro- or sectors, which consequently grow more rapidly than grammes, various solar PVand solar thermal technologies, others, implying structural changes in production and research and development activities and other useful infor- demand and, eventually, organizational and institutional mation about various institutions, such as the Ministry of change. Innovation is nowadays therefore perceived as New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the Solar Energy the fundamental driving force behind both advanced and Centre (SEC), the Solar Energy Cooperation of India advancing economies. (SECI), the Indian Renewable Energy Development In this study, we also drew on the system of innovation Agencies (IREDA), etc., were retrieved from their from Metcalf (1995) who perceives that institutions which annual reports and websites. Some informal interviews jointly and individually contribute to the development and were also undertaken to discuss various policy issues diffusion of new technology also provide the framework with professionals at the energy ministry. that governments use in forming and implementing policies To understand the research publications and patents’ to influence the innovation process. A system of innovation